.....In addition to cell damage effects by A2E, we have previously demonstrated that blue light mediated A2E leads to modifications of the basement membrane protein laminin. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of A2E photo-oxidation effects on fibronectin, the major glycoprotein of Bruch's membrane. In this study, A2E was irradiated with blue light in the presence of a fibronectin peptide consisting of amino acids from the integrin binding region. The modification sites were identified via LC/MS.
Our research indicated that blue light irradiation caused cleavage throughout the A2E molecule closest to the pyridinium ring, and attached to the fibronectin peptide preferentially at lysine and arginine residues. All of these reactions are similar to the Maillard reaction
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